Auditing

Any audit, and especially that of the mandatory annual financial statement, is generally not perceived as a particularly joyous occasion but rather is considered to be something ranging anywhere from an irksome duty all the way to an alarmingly serious hurdle to the further development of the company.

We would gladly relieve you of these cares and anxieties. We understand only too well the reservation employees feel toward outsiders and have seen how normal routine suffers during an audit. That is a major reason why we have geared our auditing procedures to concentrate on covering the essential and, with our computerized auditing and documentation methods, we keep our presence to a minimum.

The German Commercial Code (HGB) and the International Accounting Standards allow room for interpretation and the interpretations of appointed auditors can sometimes reduce the compensure of a seasoned manager to that of a nervous student facing a terrifying exam. We want to avoid such distress from the beginning, by having an open ear for the questions your accounts department might have and ensuring a maximum of transparency in our valuation standards.

Should questions arise during the audit, they can be quickly resolved because the undersigning auditor is, as a rule, with his auditing team every day for a few hours during our audits and will gladly answer any questions your management might have. If, as a middle-sized company, you have been audited until now by one of the market-dominating industry giants, you will very quickly learn to appreciate the quick decision-making process we can provide.

Executives and management boards are seldom faced with the decision of whether an auditor is needed but rather which accountancy firm will be given the job. This often involves the question of whether you should decide for a well-known, large-scale concern whose name alone inspires awe in investors or rather for a smaller accounting firm who will not treat you with condescension or just send around junior assistants. Before I founded Goldstein Consulting GmbH ten years ago, I was a partner in one of the "Big Four" companies and so I know both worlds only too well.

In the end, it is your decision. In the matter of know-how, you get the expertise of a former leading accountant with Ernst & Young at a fair price reflecting a firm that is not a market-dominating giant and also does not have to finance a marble and glass palace with its fees.

If, on the other hand, an auditor has been designated to you by the capital holding side despite your reservations, then I would at any rate suggest considering the service I offer called “Audit Consultancy” (see below).

Audit Consulting

Many consider the annual financial statement by an auditor to be a necessary evil. They usually submit to it in silent resentment either because it is prescribed by law or because an investor wants to be sure of his investment.

As an auditor, I have been intimately familiar with the legally mandated and “voluntary” annual balance of accounts for the last two decades. I have seldom been greeted with joyous enthusiasm in the audited companies (probably due to the nature of the thing), but I have noticed that these audits are being increasingly burdened by new irritations.